Bekologist

this?

vik's bike friday....


or a travelerscheck on patrol......



just a little ribbing, I know Vik is one serious bicyclist. Those bike fridays though, despite the laudations, seem a bit pint-sized for serious bicycling.

(boy i should be out riding! my excuse is a broken collarbone)

vik 

That was just a rehearsal....there is no monkey, no bear and no circus music...

Bike Fridays are serious bikes. Any paved road tour I'd tackle with my LHT I'd happily tackle on my Bike Friday.

BTW - I hope you feel better soon and get back on the bike.

Deanster04

Call S&S. They can tell you directly which frames might fit. I called and they were quite helpful. Also, the Ritchey bag is ok. I flew Air Canada and had no problems even with a transfer to UAL in Toronto on my way back to Denver. If you are flying internationally then avoid US carriers. One of the people who I went with had a Ritchey Breakaway and flew Luftansa and wasn't charged either. Southwest airlines might not charge either. When you go to the desk don't load the bag sideways but, perpendicular to the loading bay. They may not see the oversize being so small. Also, get a tag printed that says "Instrumants" and put it on the handle.
Good luck.

guadzilla

A bit late, sorry - wasnt tracking this forum while in Bhutan, obviously. The Bhutan tour was a supported trip, so all my stuff stayed in the car, which followed us. I am going to do another Asia trip next year with this bike, and I'll probably do it as a loop, and leave my bag at the hotel.

V.

Herb

Consider a Dahon, Bike Friday, or Pacific Reach 20 " wheel bike. It will fit in an airline standard hard case and you will not have to pay over size fees. I just traveled to Italy with my Dahon Hammerhead, weighgs 18 bls 18 speed. gearing was good enough for the hills od Tuscany. All my fellow riders had 700c bikes, I rode with them at no disadvantage.

bikeguru

St Kilda Cycles has both Dahon and Vivente touring bikes with the Ritchey system they are in Melbourne. They can custom build you a frame for you I have seen a few of their tourers.

lucille

+1 on Bike Friday. We did a three week long trip in France on our New World Tourists, and except for few minor problems the bikes performed very well. 744 kms.
Also, the bikes flew free as our allowed second piece of luggage, we had them on, trains, buses and in hotel rooms. Couldn't do it with full size bicycles, or at least not as easily.

c_mingus

Thanks for all the replies, i'm still seriously considering the Ritchey Cross but have found that the chainstays are quite short at 41.5cm compared with 44 on my tricross, anyone here use panniers on the Cross frame? Are there any problems with clearance between the panniers and your heels?

Also, is there room in the travel case for a rear rack? I know space in there is quite limited but thought it might fit with the two halves of the frame between the legs of the rack.

guadzilla

The Ritchey travel case has a fair amount of space in it. You should be able to pack the rack as described - the top of the case may bulge out a little but that shouldnt be a big problem.

V.

llwarriner

Can anyone tell me if there is a specific type of rack I need to buy for the Ritchey Tournado? I'm kinda new at touring.